


Pacifc Rim Secret Santa- "German Chocolate"  and "My Neighbor Hermann Gottlieb"

by fisherman



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Gen, Pacific Rim - Freeform, one shots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-18
Updated: 2014-12-17
Packaged: 2018-03-02 00:24:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2793050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fisherman/pseuds/fisherman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two short stories requested for Pacific Rim Secret Santa, for KayteaEM- I hope you enjoy them (and I'm sorry if it's not quite what you want).  Happy holidays!</p><p> </p><p>The first chapter is called "German Chocolate" and it's from the perspective of Newt and his potential thoughts on friendship with Hermann.  The second story is from the perspective of Hermann and it's about his thoughts on Stacker. Also, for context for the second story, you might want to watch this video first!  (sorry- it's the best quality i could find) http://www.animelyrics.com/anime/totoro/ttsanpo.htm</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. German Chocolate

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ItsClydeBitches](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsClydeBitches/gifts).



Newton swept a hand back through his hair.  The smell of hair gel wafted back.  He brought the blade of his scalpel along the edge of some fat tissue on a kaiju muscle sample.

  
   _Clack._

  
    Newton winced.  Not consciously.  Not yet.  The blade slid seamlessly between the mauve-colored fat and a deep cerulean ligament.  A hairs breath off, and it could ruin-

  
     _Clack. Scraaaaaape-_

  
    Newton jerked his hand back.  He chewed the inside of his cheek and inspected his handiwork.  He huffed, scribbled down a note in his illegible 4th-grade hand writing, and brought the scalpel back to the membrane.  He had never said it out loud, but he liked the sound of tissue being cut: it was soft, but there was something visceral about it.  Kind of like the same way people liked the sound of mac n’ cheese being stirred.  

  
   _Clack.  Clack._ “…but if I…No it couldn’t…blast,” _Clack._

  
    Newton huffed.  He glanced over at Hermann’s side of the room and glared at the back of his colleague’s head.  Hermann’s knobbly fingers were clinging to a single stick of chalk, scraping and scrawling it across the old green chalkboards like a ballet dancer moving across a stage.  

  
   _Clack. Clack. Scraaaape- Snap!_ “Oh botheration!”  

  
    Hermann leaned heavily on his cane, and began to bend down.  His bad leg shook violently as he reached for broken pieces of chalk.  

  
    “You could help me you know!” snapped Hermann, “Instead of watching me!”  Newton barely had time to shift before Hermann barked at him again.

  
    “Oh don’t bother!”  His beat-red face contrasted against his forest green chalkboard and he went back to scribbling.  Newton glared at Hermann: at his throbbing temple and his awful bowl haircut.  _Couldn’t he at least try to be cool?_   They had only shared this space for roughly two years, and Hermann had barely changed.  In fact, Newton was sure he was wearing the same stained off-white shirt when he had met him those two years ago at their first lab in Anchorage.  Newton squinted; sure enough, there was a dark, smeared oil stain on Hermann’s shirt collar.  A two-year-old stain on a two-year-old shirt that Hermann refused to get rid of.

  
    “It’s for the greater good!”  Hermann had chided about a month earlier when Newton had asked him about it.  Hermann was speaking to Newton in the same way a teacher talks to an annoying child.  “The Jaeger programs need all the financial success it can get, what with world governments providing less and less each year.  So what if I don’t buy a new shirt?  That’s 25 euros that can go towards cafeteria food or safety glasses for the mechanics or a box of bolts or the mouse of a holocomputer-“

  
    “But you work for the Jaeger program!”  Newton interrupted, waving a kaiju ligament liberally.  “You’re just sending your paycheck straight back to system!  And you honestly don’t believe all that ‘buy war bonds’ B-S, do you? You gotta know that a lot of its going into the pockets of those government fat cats, and not the giant robots.  And have you heard of this ‘Wall of Life’ baloney?  Caitlin was telling me about it the other-”  Newton stopped talking when he realized Hermann wasn’t desperately trying to ignore him anymore and was instead glaring angrily at him.

  
    “Of course I know,” he whispered. “I know more than anybody else.”  There was a pause, and Newton was sure Hermann was going to turn around and go back to his equations, but instead he hobbled over to Newton, wagging a finger in his face.

  
    “It’s about doing the right thing!” He said, trembling.  He tugged at his stained collar.  “I know you care so much about your appearance- and if you want to keep caring and waste your money on hair-gels and tattoos and all of this…,” he waved his hand at Newton, “nonessential attire, be my guest.  But what I do with my money, or clothes, or rations shouldn’t be any of your concern!”  Hermann turned on his good foot and headed back to his boards.  

  
    “Or maybe it should be!”  He added in one final statement. Newton realized that Hermann was staring at the kaiju specimen on his operating table and not directly at him.

  
     _What a selfish asshole_ , thought Newton.  He was back in the present moment, albeit still in the same state of annoyance.  He thinks he’s so great and saving the world.  Newton stabbed at his lunch with a fork,  _He’s doing more harm than good really- half our money is winding up in the pockets of senators and CEO’s and_ \- Newton glanced up.  It had been only twenty minutes since he had punched out and wandered to lunch, and Hermann had finally made his way into the lunch room.  Hermann was generally unlike by everyone in the PPDC, save for maybe Mako Mori.  Oh, and the Kaidonovsky’s.  

  
    Newton wrinkled his nose.   Why would a couple who is so punk, so hardcore, so, _so cool_ , even want to breath the same air as Hermann?  Newton glanced down and clicked the tips of his steal-toed boots against the ground, watching with immense jealousy as Lt. Sasha waved Hermann to their table.  Hermann’s laugh lines stretched across his face as he sat down and Alex clapped him on the back, making him careen forward into the table.  Alex and Sasha gingerly steadied him as if he were a house of cards.  

  
    Newton exhaled angrily from his nose and got out of his seat.  He dumped his empty yogurt carton and greasy paper plate into the trash and started to walk out of the cafeteria.  

  
    “Nah, wait a minute, what have we here?”  Newton looked at the normally empty vending machine next to the trash and realized -for once- that it had actual candy bars in it.

   
    “Hey Doctor G!”  Newton turned around and saw Caitlin Lightcap, walking towards him.  Newton waved and jabbed a thumb towards the vending machines.  

  
    “Hey Doctor L, you see they put candy bars in the machines now?  Nice to know the PPDC Budgeting Comittee is finally getting their act together,” Newton joked.  Caitlin smiled and shrugged.

  
    “Actually, you see the candy bars in their?  All homemade and donated from some small German company.  You should recognize it right- it’s from your neck of the woods.  And, dude, you don’t get to call me Doctor anymore, I’m a Lieutenant now!”  She tapped a finger on the jaeger pilot insignia on her sweater.  

  
    “Pfff, don’t remind me,” Newton said, rolling his eyes, “Caitlin Lightcap the jaeger pilot: Champion of the geeks!  Destroyer of Kaiju!  Kicker of Asses!”  Caitlin let out a loud giggle that Newton couldn’t help reciprocate.  As their laughter died down, Caitlin reached into her pocket.

  
    “Which one do you want?  I like the mint-chocolate bars,” she said with a smile, and jamming a dollar into the machines. 

  
    “What?  No Caitlin, I’m a grown-ass man I can buy my own candy bar.  You don’t-"

  
    “Don’t?  Don’t what?  I’m a grown-ass woman and _I_ can do something nice for a friend.  Now what do you want?”  Caitlin held a poised finger over the key pad.  Newton mulled the decision over in his head.

  
    “Hmmm...you know what, I’ll go classic.  Give me plain milk chocolate.”  He said.

  
    “Plain?”  Asked Caitlin incredulously, tapping the keypad.  She watched the twisted wires begin to turn.  “‘Plain’ and ‘Newton Geiszler’ usually don’t go together.”  There were two dull thuds as the candy bars hit the bottom of the machine.  Caitlin bent over and picked them up.

  
    “Here you go- mint for me and boring, plain, normal milk chocolate for Newton.”  Newton smiled as he took the candy bar from her.

  
    “It’s not boring, it’s classic!  Everyone likes milk chocolate.  It’s not plain, it’s popular.  Milk chocolate is what you bring to a party if you want the other kids to like you.”  Newton sniffed at her, trying his hardest to be serious.  Caitlin laughed.

  
    “Ha, you sound just like Hermann!”  She laughed, biting into her chocolate bar.  

  
    “That’s Doctor Gottlieb, to you!”  Newton commanded in a faux english accent. They both laughed uncontrollably and had to quickly scurry away while people stared at them.  

  
    “Oh man, we shouldn’t tease like that!”  said Caitlin, as she walked down the hallway with Newton.  

  
    “No, we should definitely tease like that.”  Newton said, taking a bite out of candy bar.  He hadn’t eaten chocolate this good in eons.  The rich, sweet chocolate quickly melted in his mouth as he swirled it around his tongue and teeth.

    
    “Are you two still at each others throats?  I can’t say I miss the daily drama that was in the lab,”  added Caitlin.  

  
    Newton scowled, “He just thinks he’s right all the time!”

  
    “He is usually right all the time.  We hired him for that reason.”  Caitlin said, licking the chocolate from her fingers.  

  
    “Ya, but he’s always treating me like a child me and clucking at me like a mother hen!”  Newton bent his knees and brought his arms up, pretending to be a chicken.  “ _Bawk, bawk, bawk_ , my name is Hermann and you need to stop playing music in the lab!”  Newton strutted around Caitlin who was trying to control her laughter, “ _Bawk, bawk_ , stop pretending the divider in our lab in a tightrope!  _Bawk, bawk_ , you need to save your money and donate to the PPDC.”  Newton huffed and straightened his back. “As if we don’t already give enough of our money to the PPDC.

  
    “You could learn something from him you know- and ya sometimes money in the PPDC goes where we don’t want it to-“  
    ‘Like the senators and big wigs?”  Asked Newton.

  
    “Ya, like them,” sighed Caitlin, “But nine times out of ten its going to those jaegers.”  She paused for a moment, pushing the last of her chocolate bar into her mouth.  “You know... you wouldn’t even have the chocolate bars if it wasn’t for Hermann.”  
    “What!?”  Newton stared at his chocolate bar as if Hermann’s head was going to pop out of the wrapper.

  
    “Ya, I was talking with Stacker earlier and apparently one of Hermann’s siblings is a chocolatier and operates this small company in Bavaria somewhere.  He says that Hermann was able to get all PPDC Shatterdome’s gourmet German chocolate for at least a year.”  Caitlin brought her voice down to a whisper.  “Stacker says that Hermann didn’t want any credit from it at all and would prefer the story not getting out, ya feel me?”  Caitlin nudged Newton in his pudgy stomach.  

  
    “Well why would he do that?  Hermann is literally the opposite of joy and happiness and chocolate.”  Newton popped the last bit of candy bar in his mouth.

  
    “Because, you ding dong, he’s a good guy: the man acts thirty years older than he actually is, but he has a heart of gold and really cares for...all of this.”  Caitlin gestured to the viewing window to their left.  Crews of welders, engineers and mechanics were hard at work repairing the damage done to Brawler Yukon.  

  
    “And he cares for you too, ya know.”  She added, quietly.  Newton rolled his eyes.

  
    “Cares?  About me?  Are you sure this is Hermann Gottlieb we’re talking about?”  He asked mockingly.  

  
    “I’m serious, he’s told me before!”  Snapped Caitlin, “He said that you’re annoying, and self-centered, and childish -which, I’m not going to lie, is a kinda true- but he also said that he really, truly, admires the work you’ve put into your research and your -oh how did he put it?- your um...” Caitlin waved her hands around her head that seemed to suggest and explosion.  They kept walking while Newton adamantly at the ground.

  
    “Really?  He said… that?”  Newton repeated the gesture.

  
    “Is that a smile?  Is that a smile I see on your face Newton Geiszler?  Could it be after all these years, you don’t completely hate Doctor Hermann Gottlieb?  You might even...”

  
    “Shhh...Don’t stay it out loud!”  Begged Newton as he attempted to cover Caitlin’s mouth.

  
    “ _Like_ him, a little?”  Newton wanted to punch the shit-eating-grin right off of Caitlin’s face.  She struggled not to laugh as they continued walking towards the science lab.  

  
________

  
  
Newton walked back into the lab and thought about what Caitlin said.  Had he ever liked Hermann or enjoyed his company?  He couldn’t think of any specific time, at least, anytime after their letter-writing days.  This past year seemed to have gotten worse, what with them implementing a piece of tape down the center of the lab.  Newton deliberately stuck a toe over the edge of the divider, into ‘Hermann territory,’ before sitting back down at his desk.  

  
    Newton sat down and heard a crinkling sound in his pocket.  He pulled out the candy wrapper from his chocolate bar earlier.   
    Still, thought Newton, as much as he drives me crazy, I guess he his a good person, deep down.  Just not my kind of good person.  Or something.  He tossed the candy wrapper towards the trash on the other side of the room.  It hit the wall above it and landed into a mess of boxes.  

  
    Newton huffed annoyingly and wandered over to the boxes near the trash bin.  He dug around in them until he found the candy wrapper.  It had landed perfectly into a beaker.  

  
    Newton picked the beaker out of the box and suddenly had a wonderful idea.    
_____  
  
    Newton heard Hermann before he saw him. Herman came into the lab, grumbling to himself.   The normal cadence of his three-footed walk was interrupted by a loud squeaking sound, quickly followed by Hermann shrieking.

  
    “NEWTON GEISZLER!”  Hermann screamed.  “How many times have I told you no kaiju entrails on my side of the lab!”  He waved his cane in the air, blue kaiju goo sticking to the end of it. “Do you know the untold damage you would have caused if I had fallen?  I could’ve had a concussion or a spinal injury or-”

  
    Instead of listening to him, Newton immediately started tapping the beaker he had pulled out of the trash earlier, banging his pen against it until Hermann was stunned into silence.  

  
    “Hermann.  Darling, beautiful, sweet, red-faced Hermann-”

  
    “Newton,” Hermann hissed, “If you are pushing me to murder it is working-”

  
    “Hermann,” repeated Newton, “I am truly and sincerely sorry for the entrail mess.  I will clean it up in a minute.”  He gestured to the jar, “This, is the PPDC Donations Yelling Jar.  Every time I yell at you, or you yell at me, or we get into a screaming match, we put in whatever money we have on hand into the jar.  At the end of the week we take whatever amount’s in there and give it to Marshall Pentecost.  That way it doesn’t have to go through any government hoo-haa first.  Just one hundred percent unadulterated donations to the PPDC; all for the greater good and doing the right thing.”  Newton set the jar on the desk in front of him and reached into his pocket. 

“Here!  I’ve got two dollars and... sixty eight cents! I’ll donate first, on your behalf, as a sign of good faith.”  The bills and change landed into the beaker with a loud clink.  Newton couldn’t help but smile at Hermann’s shocked expression.

  
    “So, whaddya think?”  Newton leaned back on his stool.  After a moment of stammering Hermann took a deep breath.

  
    “I think...you should keep all four legs of your chair on the floor, unless you want to clean up bits of your brain along with the kaiju.”  Leaning heavily on his cane Hermann walked towards a computer, sat down, and turned it on.  

  
    Newton frowned at the back of Hermann’s head.  He slumped his shoulders forward and glared at the beaker on his desk.  After a minute he stood up and reached for the paper towel and disinfectant on his desk.

  
    “I think it’s a brilliant idea,” Hermann said unexpectedly.  For the first time in a long time, Hermann’s voice wasn’t dripping with irritation or sarcasm.  Newton sat up in his chair and held his breath.

  
    “It’s a creative idea.  And it’s very altruistic of you.”  Hermann turned back to the computer and began to code, but stopped as his fingers were poised over the keyboard.

  
    “If anything, it will hopefully keep us from screaming at each other.”  He added, rubbing at his throat.    
    Newton nodded in agreement, and turned back to his work; scalpel in hand, and a grin on his face.  


	2. My Neighbor Hermann

   Of all the Shatterdome’s Hermann had been visited, Anchorage was, without a doubt, his favorite.  

  
    He brought the mug of tea up to his lips and sipped at it, gazing at the rain and mist which smeared together in a grey-blue haze in the dark harbor.  Flocks of seagulls flew through the air while crabbing boats made their way out to sea, not to return for months at a time.  

  
   Hermann thought that those men and women must be crazy- still hunting for crab and fish even though there were terrifying monsters out in the depths of the ocean.  Granted, only one monster came at a time, and even still, it could only attack one area of the Pacific at a time.  

  
   But still.  

  
   Hermann took another sip of tea and tightened the blanket around his bony shoulders.  It was a Sunday which technically meant that everyone in the Shatterdome had the day off, but everyone was so bored and so scared of another unexpected attack, that they usually “volunteered” in the labs and on the work floors anyway.  Dark choppy waves crashed against the loading bay of the Shatterdome.  

  
   Another sip.  Hermann decided that he should probably get out of the Shatterdome today.  He loved the quiet and the stillness of Alaska’s mountains and forests.  The forests near the Lima Shatterdome had been noisy and filled with insects, but the Alaskan forests were silent, cold, and oddly comforting.  

  
  _Besides_ , thought Hermann, _I should still go for walks while I still can_.  

  
  He stood up and placed his mug next to his nightstand.  On his nightstand were a number of items: his glasses, his ID, little orange bottles for his newly diagnosed disorder, and magazine clipping of his wife from her most recent runway walk.  He picked up the glasses and pushed them onto the bridge of his nose, to better read the little orange bottles.  

  
   The dark, dingy hallways of the Shatterdome reminded Hermann of a sewer- not that he’d ever been in one, but he made a mental note to put in a request for dehumidifier whenever he was mailed a new “municipal improvements” worksheet.  His footsteps echoed through the hallway while Hermann’s long clammy fingers fidgeted as he tried to pull his zipper up his large industrial coat.  Even in fifty degree fall weather he felt the warmth being sapped from his bones, and the sea-side humidity didn’t help.  

  
   “Hey!  Excuse me, Doctor Gottlieb!”

  
   Hermann turned and saw a young man running towards him.  He couldn’t have been a few years older than twenty, although the bowtie fasted under his cadet uniform made him look  childish.  

  
   “You’re Doctor Hermann Gottlieb, right?”  Asked the young man, holding his hand out.  Hermann took it warmly, despite the fact that it was covered in grease.  

  
   “Ah, yes,” his eye flickered at the name tag on the man’s chest, “Cadet Choi?”

  
   “Oh, forget about that, just call me Tendo.”  He said, grinning.  Herman was about to object and give a brief lecture on Shatterdome personnel protocol, but Tendo pulled out a clip board and tapped his finger on it.

  
   “It says here that you’re next for Shatterdome Movie Night.”

  
   “I...I beg your pardon?”  Asked Hermann.  He didn’t recall ever signing up for Shatterdome movie night, held every Sunday evening at seven o’clock, and he’d only ever gone once to watch _Lawrence of Arabia_.  More often than not people chose to show action films and car chase movies.  He knew for a fact that Newton Gieszler had manipulated the system to be picked multiple times to choose films, and he would always choose some Japanese horror film or  psychedelic-induced art-house piece.  Hermann couldn’t wrap his head around how people could watch action and horror when action and horror was literally outside their doorstep.  

  
   “Yup!  It’s right here.  Doctor Hermann Gottlieb, PPDC K-Science Cadet and your date slot is today...it’s says your nickname is Hermann the German... is that true?  Can I call you that?”  Tendo asked, smiling.

  
   Hermann snatched the clipboard from his hands.  It wasn’t even his handwriting on the board: it was Newton’s.  Hermann scowled and handed the clipboard back to Tendo.

  
   “I’m afraid there’s been a mistake,” he said flatly.  “Someone put my name down as a prank.   And, _no_ , you may not call me ‘Hermann the German;’ it’s offensive.  You’ll probably receive an email from HR later asking for your witness to this obvious workplace harassment.”

  
   “Oh, um, I’m sorry...Are you sure you don’t want to pick out a movie though?  It can be anything you want...In fact HR says that the Shatterdome and the Jaeger Academy benefits a lot from community projects like this-“

  
   “No, thank you.”  Hermann said forcefully.  “I don’t enjoy watching a lot of films, I can’t sit still long enough.”  

  
   Cadet Tendo’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.  Even his bow tie seemed to droop.

  
   “Oh, ok.  Well you have until tonight at seven to change your mind.  Otherwise I’ll find someone else.  If you do change your mind, you can request me through the personnel com-system.”

  
   “I am well aware how the com system works, thank you.  Have a pleasant day.  Enjoy our film night.”  said Hermann.  Without another word he headed towards the Shatterdome’s front doorway, leaving Tendo behind.   

  
   Brilliant light flooded the hallway as Hermann made his way outside.  Hermann angrily chewed the inside of his cheek, already planning out the email he would send to HR about Newton’s blatant disregard for his privacy and disrespect for his identity.  It was a good thing that  he hadn’t even heard or seen Doctor Geiszler for the better half of 24 hours, otherwise the Anchorange shorefront would be ringing with Hermann’s shouts of frustration.  Hermann gingerly stepped out onto the large driveway that lead towards downtown Anchorage.  His anger instantly flooded away from his as the wind blew past his face.  The Chugach mountains framed Anchorage and their snowy tops blended into the brilliant blue sky, taking Hermann’s breath away.  A couple of eagles were perched on the fence surrounding the Shatterdome.  A military jeep drove through the entry way and one of the eagles took off and flew in the direction of  the mountain.  

  
  Hermann lifted his arms slightly.  His heart fluttered and he wished for a moment that he could fly too, all the way to the tops of the mountains.

  
   “Doctor Gottlieb!”

  
   Hermann was startled out of his reverie by Ranger Stacker Pentecost.  A hand waved from the jeep as he parked, and Hermann gave a small wave back.  For a moment Hermann couldn’t stop smiling: he had been tracking the success of Stacker in the Osaka Shatterdome and had eagerly waited for his arrival back to Anchorage ever since it had been announced that he would be returning to the Anchorage Shatterdome and the Jaeger Academy for “personal reasons.”  He couldn’t quite place why he was so excited, but it felt as if a parent was coming home from a long business trip.  Hermann thought that was strange, because he never enjoyed spending time with his own father.

  
   Stacker gestured for him to walk over and Hermann obliged.  Instead of meeting Hermann, Stacker went to the back passengers door, and helped someone out of the car.

  
   A young Japanese girl in a cobalt blue pea coat stared up at Hermann with big, sad brown eyes.  Hermann knew those eyes, he had seen them in the mirror more than once.

  
   “It’s nice to see you again Sta- Ranger Pentecost,” stammered Hermann.  He had only talked to Stacker a couple of times.  Back when Herman had been first brought onto the PPDC science team by his father, Caitlin Lightcap had introduced the two of them.  He had never met someone before that radiated respect and command so well, yet at the same time had a gentle smile to offer.

   
   “How was...I mean to say, obviously the Osaka mission was successful-”  Stacker quickly cut Hermann off with a look, and Hermann felt his tongue shrivel up in his mouth.  Stacker’s face suddenly lit up with a smile as he quickly got down on his knee and clapped his arms on the shoulders of the young girl.

  
   “Doctor Gottlieb, I’d liked you to meet Miss Mako Mori.  She’s going to be staying with us,” he paused for a moment, gazing at her, “indefinitely.”

   
   A ghost of a mile flickered across Mako’s face as she hugged herself closer to Stacker.  Hermann was sure he had never seen a man so happy.  

  
   “In...indefinitely?” Hermann said.  It wasn’t usual for children to be seen at the Shatterdome’s.  The only other instance he had heard of a child being in a dome was one of the Australian Rangers’ children.  

  
   “Yes, she’s um...well...I’ve adopted her.”  The pride radiating from Stacker was almost intoxicating.  But Hermann’s heart dropped into his stomach.

  
   “Wow!  That’s...I mean... it’s very sudden, isn’t it?  Doesn’t the adoption process take longer than umm...a few months?”   What was this emotion he was feeling?  Jealousy?  Maybe even a bit of spite.

  
   _Why are you upset_ , Hermann thought, panicking, _She’s just a little girl.  A little girl who needed a family.  She’s just small and scared, and isn’t it wonderful that Pentecost is there for her?  You have a family.  You have a father.  Why are you jealous?  Stop being jealous, Hermann, dammit.   Be elated for once._

  
   “Well being a jaeger pilot and world-renowned hero usually helps the adoption process move along a bit quicker.”  Stacker said patiently.  “And, well, I don’t know.  She just appeared out of the rubble and...that was that.”  He had yet to take his eyes off Mako.  

  
   “That was that,” repeated Mako softly. Hermann raised his eyebrows at her.  Embarrassed, Mako buried her face in Stacker’s shoulder.  Stacker chuckled.

  
   “It’s alright.  Mako, this is one of my friends, Doctor Gottlieb.  You are both going to get to know each other well- he’s going to be you math tutor.”  Stacker turned to Hermann, “If that’s alright with you.”  

  
   “Oh! Um, yes, I mean of course.”  Hermann had never taught children math before.  He hadn’t really taught anyone anything before.  Lecturing Newton on workplace appropriateness was hard enough; hopefully this young girl wouldn’t add to that.

   
   “You hear that Mako?  Doctor Gottlieb is going to teach you how to code a jaeger, how does that sound?”

  
   “Code?  A jaeger? What is... ‘code?’”  Asked Mako, her eyes darting back and forth between Hermann and Stacker.  

  
  “Oh, hmm, give us a moment,” Stacker smiled at Hermann before he launched into Japanese, explaining to Mako how coding a jaeger worked.  With each word her eyes grew wider and wider, until she turned back to Hermann.

  
   “You...make the jaeger...think?”  She asked, deliberately saying each word with intense focus.

  
    “I suppose you could say that...” Hermann nervously glanced at Stacker.  “It’s sort of more complica-”

  
   “I must code jaeger!”  Mako shouted.  All three and a half feet of her stood in defiance.  “I must code jaeger!  I must fight!  Please teach me.”  She bowed her head slightly, but kept her eyes locked on Hermann’s.  Of all the new recruits and young aspiring cadets in the jaeger academy, Hermann was sure that Mako had the most grit of any person he had met.  

  
   “Let’s not worry about fighting right now,” said Stacker, placing an arm on her shoulder. “How about we worry about getting lunch and getting settled in?”  

  
   Mako seemed to deflate slightly, and her cheeks blushed with embarrassment.  She hugged herself close to Stackers leg.  He smiled and stroked her head.  

  
   “It was nice seeing you again Doctor Gottlieb.”  Stacker shouldered Mako’s luggage, “I’ve been asked to teach at the jaeger academy, mostly help with the pilot selection process, but I’m sure I’ll make my way down to the science labs.  You’ll definitely be getting to know Mako though.  She is as smart as a whip and twice as dangerous.  I think you’ll enjoy her company.  At least, probably more than Doctor Geiszler’s.”  

  
   “Yes...of course,” mumbled Hermann.  He really wished that he could sit down and have an in-depth conversation with Stacker, but even then he probably wouldn’t be sure what to say.  

  
  Stacker and Mako turned around, heading towards the entrance of the Shatterdome.  

  
 _Well that was a disaster_ , thought Hermann,  _You could’ve been cordial and welcoming but once again you were only capable of bumbling through social interactions.  This young lady’s first impression of the Anchorage Shatterdome and you completely shut her down._ _But maybe..._

  
  “Wait!  Wait, Ranger Pentecost!”  Hermann waved after them, and quickly followed after them.  His legs shook, giving him a ghostly reminder of their eventual failure, but he quickly banished the thought from his mind.  

  
  “There’s um, there’s going to be a movie tonight,” Hermann said.

  
   “A movie?  Like in your quarters?”  Pentecost asked, raising an eyebrow.  

  
   “No!”  Hermann flushed scarlet, “It’s this new program, I mean, it’s not much of a program, but, its more just like and after school activity, but we’re not at school...um.”

  
  “The movie?”

  
   “Yes, the Jaeger Academy hosts a movie night every sunday evening!”  Hermann finaly said, managing to get his thoughts together.  “They’re, um, I believe tonights feature is a children’s film!”  Hermann looked at Mako for approval.  She peaked her head out from under Stacker’s arm.  

  
   “Do you like cartoons, Miss Mori?”  Hermann asked. His parents didn’t raise him in a religious household, but at that moment he was praying harder than he had in a long time.  

  
   “Car-toons?”  Asked Mako, looking up at Stacker.  Stacker smiled and explained.  Mako turned her head back and nodded quietly.  

  
   “It’s at seven, if you decide to go.”  Hermann added.  

  
   “I think it will be a nice ending to a long day.  We might both fall alseep though, we’re both suffering from a bit of jetlag.  Also I recently fought a giant 20-story tall space-crab.  So, you know...”

  
   “These things happen,”  nodded Hermann, smiling slightly.  _See Hermann good job that was a joke you picked up on, you’re not completely hopeless after all._

  
   Stacker and Mako waved goodbye and disappeared into the darkness of the Shatterdome.  Hermann returned his attention to the mountains at his back.

  
   “I still have the whole day ahead of me,” he mumbled under his breath, as he walked towards the gates.  “I can still fit a walk in before seven.”  
____  
  
   Hermann hesitantly walked into the mess hall.  It was filled with a dull roar of cacophony as a number of cadets made small talk in their seats.  Hermann saw Newton Geiszler sitting with a group of young k-science cadets.  He was screaming at them excitedly about the possibilities of NASA refunding their Mars expedition after the breach was closed, but it was all up to speculation at this point.  

  
   Hermann quickly made his way to the very front.  He always sat in the front of every class he had every been in, but for some reason sitting in the front of the movie theater made him squeamish.  He sat down in the creaking metal chair and let the sounds of excited young adults wash over him.  

  
   “Are these seats taken?”  Stacker was standing next to Hermann, Mako by his side.  

  
   “No, please sit down.”  Mako sat down between the two of them, but scooted closer to Stacker and clung to his arm like a limpet.  She turned and asked him something in Japanese.  Stacker shrugged and answered her back.  

  
   A smattering of applause broke out as Tendo Choi walked onto the makeshift stage in front of the screen.  Someone in the audience screamed “YEEEAH CHOI-BOY!”  Tendo pretended not to notice and fumbled with his microphone instead.

  
“Is this on?  Oh- Ok here we go.  Alright!  Hey everyone, Welcome to Shatterdome movie night!”  Hermann sighed as there was another over-enthusiastic break of applause.  Were young twenty-somethings really this bored?  

  
  “I’m Tendo Choi, head of the Jaeger Academy Extra-Curricular Functions Committee, and I would like to thank you all for coming out tonight, and would like to remind everyone to sign up for next weeks simulation tournament.  If you’re on our email list, you should’ve gotten an email about that, if not, please contact me later.  

  
   “Before we begin, I’d like to honor a special guest in the room: the hero of Tokyo and my favorite Ranger, Lieutenant Stacker Pentecost!”  There was a collective scraping of chairs and all of the cadets stood up, applauding and cheering wildly.  Hermann slowly stood up and clapped too, until finally Stacker stood up and politely waved to everyone.  As soon as he sat back down Mako was wrapped around his arm again.  

  
  “She’s tired,” Stacker mouthed to Hermann.  Hermann nodded and worried if this was too much.

   
  “I’d like to remind everyone to please silence their phones and other obnoxious noisemakers.  That includes Doctor Geiszler- please for the love of God, someone duct tape his mouth shut.  If any of you would still like to be put on the roster for movie night film picks, you can come see me after the film.  If everyone is ready, please enjoy tonight’s film!”  Tendo clicked the microphone off and walked offstage as the lights were dimming.  

  
   The screen flickered to life, and Hermann held his breath.  A solid block of blue appeared, followed by a drawing of a strange teddy-bear like monsters and some white Japanese characters.   A couple of English characters said “Studio Ghibli.”  
 Excited whispers broke out.  Hermann risked a glance down at Mako.  Her eyes had widened and she was looking at the screen more intently.  

  
  More blue screen.  More white Japanese characters.  The screen returned to solid blue and a small, white, rabbit-looking creature walked across the front.

   
“YES!”  Screamed someone in the audience.  Applause and shouting broke out.  

  
   Hermann had gone to a video store in Anchorage earlier that day and asked what would be a good movie to show to a young Japanese immigrant girl.  He didn’t anticipate that so many adults losing their minds over this movie.  

  
   The picture on the DVD’s box featured some young girls and a large grey-rabbit-teddy-bear-thing.  The words were in Japanese but he hadn’t cared, so long as Mako liked it.  

  
   Music began to play.  It sounded like an electric bagpipe.  Hermann looked back incredulously at the amount of young adults who were swaying in-time with the music.  

  
   “Was zur...?”  Hermann whispered to himself.  How popular was this movie?  He never enjoyed cartoon films growing up.  They had always been so silly and unrealistic (well, he had always liked _The Iron Giant_ , but that’s besides the point). Why did everyone like this?  Why were they going so crazy?  

  
   “ _Arukou_! _Arukou_!  _Watashi wa genki_!”  Sang a voice from the opening credits.  A large portion of the audience was singing along, Hermann could hear Newton’s rasping above everyone else’s.  

  
   Mako was singing along too.  Her voice was small and shaking, but she had let go of Stacker and was swaying back and forth in rhythm with the song.   Hermann smiled at her.  He had never really gotten along with children before, but now he couldn’t help but look forward to the tutoring sessions they would have together.  

  
   For the first time in a long time, Hermann sat back and enjoyed a film.  
___

  
  More singing from the audience, followed by the scraping of metal chairs as all of the cadets worked together to fold them and put them away. Another group began dragging the lunch tables from the sides of the room and pulling them back into a formation.  Tendo Choi was swarmed by a group of cadets interested in email sign ups.  Newton was with a gaggle of scientists, discussing what the powers and abilities of a Totoro-esque kaiju would be.  

  
   _Why does he always have to taint everything with his love of those wretched monsters?_ thought Hermann.  He felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned around.  Stacker Pentecost was holding Mako in his arms.

   
   “I just wanted to say thank you.  You didn’t have to do that.”  He adjusted a sleeping Mako in his arms.

   
   “I didn’t have anything to do with it really, I-”

  
   “Hey, Doctor Gottlieb!”  said Tendo, walking up to them.  He noticed a sleeping Mako, and started to whisper, “Oops, sorry!”

  
   “It’s alright, she can sleep through anything.”  Stacker said, nodding.  Tendo turned his attention back to Hermann.

  
   “Anyway, I just wanted to say, nice pick on the film!  It’s kind of a nice break from all the heavier stuff we watch.  I think we were all due for some light-heartedness.  Maybe I should implement more kids movies and sing-alongs: it seemed to go over really well.  Anyway, thanks again!”  Tendo slapped Hermann awkwardly on the shoulder and wandered off.

  
  “I hope to see your name on the roster again soon- and not because the other Newton puts it there!”   Tendo called.  Hermann gave him one small final wave before he was attacked by another gaggle of cadets.  

  
   “You were saying?  You had nothing to do with this?”  laughed Stacker.  He gestured for Hermann to walk with him.  

  
   They wandered away from the noise and scraping of metal and the laughter.  Mako stirred in Stacker’s arms, but fell back asleep.  Hermann was struggling not to fall asleep himself, and it didn’t help that his legs were aching and that this film was surprisingly emotionally draining.

  
   “Being a Dad is strange.”  Stacker said suddenly.

   
   “What makes you say that,” ventured Hermann.  

  
   “I suppose, like any other dad, you just were a sort of...singular man... and then ‘poof’ next you’re responsible for another human being.  Being a ranger, I was responsible for a lot of lives, but I didn’t have to have a relationship with all of those people.  I just had to be a sort of...”

  
   “Fixed point?”  Hermann suggested.

  
   “Yes, precisely.  Just a symbol.  But the first time I hop out of my jaeger and go down into the broken streets and rubble, I find this young girl...and she turns out to be my daughter.”  He glanced down at Mako.  “I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do.  Some moments it feels so natural and familiar, and other moments I”m scared out of my mind.”

  
   “I think you’re a great dad!” blurted Hermann.  His tongue shot back into his mouth and he could feel his ears turning red. Stacker raised an eyebrow at him.

  
   “I mean, you have the qualities of an excellent father.”

  
   “Do you expect to be promoted with all of this flattery?”  Stacker said nonchalantly.  Hermann didn’t see the smile on Stacker's face as he started stammering.  

  
   “I-I didn’t mean!  I-n-no!  No, of course, I simply m-meant-”  Hermann stopped when Stacker began laughing.

  
   “It’s alright Doctor Gottlieb, I was merely joking.  Obviously I need to work on my dad jokes.”  

  
   “Yes, yes, obviously you were just joking,” Hermann said nervously.    
  
   _Its only been a couple of hours, and I can tell that you’re already going to be a better father than my own_ , Hermann thought.

  
   “Well, if your predictions of fatherhood are anything like your mathematical predictions, I think I’m going to be just fine.  Have a nice night, Doctor Gottlieb, and thank you again for welcoming Mako to the States.”  

  
   Stacker readjusted Mako in his arms and started to walk down the opposite end of the hallway.  

  
   “Goodnight.”  Hermann mumbled.  He walked back down the hallway, back to his own quarters.  His legs were aching and his vision had started to blur.  

  
   Back in his room, Hermann sat on his bed and stared out of his small nautical window.   It was still the part of the year where it was sunny outside until 10 at night, and even with his worsening vision, he could make out the silhouettes of the mountains in the distance.  

  
   _Maybe I could take Mako up those mountains.  Maybe she’d like that._   Hermann layed down and stared to drift off to sleep, starting to formulate a lesson plan that would include Alaska’s coniferous forests.  

  
 _Maybe someday I could be father.  Maybe I could be a father as good as Stacker_ ,  Hermann thought, as he fell asleep.  


End file.
